Shattered Skies: Beginning's End

by Heather Linn

  If Jaden had talked to me in that tone before, I would have stood up and walked away, but I knew he was right. If there was any way at all to salvage the situation and save ourselves, me being an emotionally detached catatonic wasn't going to help a thing. So I told them. I told them about Doctor Walker and about the others and I told them how I killed his twin and Darien’s mate. Watching their faces as I relived it was enough to stir up the pain I was trying to bury. When I stopped talking I couldn’t look at Darien. I had taken away the family that he never had the chance to have. I not only killed his mate Jewel, I had killed his unborn child too, and now thanks to me, there would be no child born for him to hold any time soon. I didn’t deserve to live. Knowing that Jewel was pregnant had been enough to stop him from coming after me. Sure he would have mourned me, but he would have done it while Jewel comforted him and whispered that everything was going to be OK. I couldn’t do that for him. I should have walked away the minute that I knew trouble was coming. I looked at Jaden and he had his head in his hands. Jewel had been his too. The bond that the two twins shared was something that none of us would ever understand. I had literally robbed him of half of his soul. Jewel was a part of him; they had the same reactions, they felt the same things, they finished each other’s sentences. I would never forgive myself for taking her away from the two men who loved and needed her.

  No one spoke for what seemed like eternity and finally Darien said, “We have to save him. It doesn't matter what he is, he has always taken care of us, and now it is our turn to take care of him.” I looked at him appalled.

  “I am not saving him. He never told us what he was; he has done nothing but lie to us. He is the one that told us that Vampires were evil and we had to do whatever it took to cleanse the Earth of them. He played us for fools. I have the blood of your child on my hands because of that thing chained to the wall in there. I can’t save him. I can’t bring Jewel back, I can’t bring the baby back and I can’t bring back everyone else that is gone either. Why is a liar entitled to a second chance?” I looked at Jaden hoping that he had would see my reasoning or at least more so than Darien.

  “I know you are hurting Cat, but the man saved us and cared for us. I mean, hell, we wouldn't even be here if it wasn’t for him. We have to go get him. There is no doubt in my mind that Walker would die for us and monster or not, I think we owe him the same in return.” I couldn't believe what I was hearing. We had been raised to believe that the only good monster was a dead monster and here they were telling me that they wanted to risk our lives and our secrets to go help one.

  “You guys are unbelievable. You didn't see him in there. He wasn't human, he was hissing for Christ’s sake. If you want to run off and play heroes, that’s fine, but you are doing it without me. I don’t owe that man a thing.”

  “That’s enough Cat!” I had to turn around and look to see where the voice was coming from and much to my surprise it was Darien. I had never heard that level of conviction and command in his voice before. “Cat I have heard enough. I don't care if he is a monster; I don't care if he is fucking Satan himself. He saved us; he let us live. He might be a monster, but he wants to help us. He has never given us a reason not to trust him and I am not going to just walk away. Besides, who the hell do you think you are? He is a Vampire, he can't help that. You, however, are screwing their King. I would say that’s way worse than being a Vampire.”

  The hatred in his voice let me know that nothing between us would ever be the same. I had lost more than my family; I had lost my best friend. I could never make him understand the feeling that Akia's touch gave to me and he would never believe me if I told him that I had never slept with Akia. I knew now that there was no way that I could tell him how I truly felt about the Regent, because if he did believe me, which I doubted, I would feel like I was making a mockery of Jewel’s death. Where did that leave me? Darien was still here and alive and I thanked whatever force in the universe was responsible for protecting him. Yet, he was gone. What we had and even what we could have had was over.

  “Everyone is dead and you have nothing better to do then to call me a monster's whore? I never thought you would ever say anything like that to me Darien.” I couldn’t keep the hurt out of my voice.

  “Of course everyone is dead and it’s your fault Cat. If you hadn’t caused trouble from day one, if you would have been happy like the other girls, then everyone would still be alive.”

  There was no doubt in my mind that Darien meant what he said with all of his heart. Whatever love he had felt for me in the past was gone. I was now downgraded to the person who had ruined his future and the sad part was he was right. If I had just been happy being a housewife so to speak, then the others would still be here. If I had been happy just being a baby factory, Darien and I could have been partners and on our way to having children of our own. Thinking about it didn’t disgust me like it used to, it did just the opposite, and suddenly I longed for a past that I had thrown away. It was all my fault. What was the point of fighting? Maybe I should just walk in and say that I was the only one left. They really didn’t have the evidence to prove otherwise. I would just beg them to kill me because I couldn’t stand to go it alone. It would work, because it had to. I could give Darien and Jaden a chance at getting away. I owed them that much.

  “I don't know what is wrong with you two”, said Jaden, “but you can have your little lover’s spat later, if there is a later. It isn’t anyone’s fault. We all knew that there was a chance that we would be discovered some day; it was a fact of life. As much as I am crying for Jewel, I know that if she was here right now she would tell both of you to grow up. She loved every minute of the life that she lived; the life that that man, our father, chained to the wall in there, gave her. Without him, we would have all died with our parents. Now if you two can shut up and knock it off, I am going to go avenge my sister. Right now, Dr. Walker is still in there. We owe it to him to try and get him out, even if we decide that it ends there and we go our own separate ways after. But we aren't walking away and leaving him with them. That man gave up everything for us, and I am damned well going to repay the favor.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I was standing outside Akia's mansion, just out of the guard’s sight. I was trying to get myself together enough so that I could walk in there and act like I had nothing to do with the vermin as my family was now being referred to. I’d have to laugh about their deaths when all I really wanted to do was kill everyone and anyone that had a hand in their slayings.

  I had to get Akia to take me back down to Dr. Walker. I had to pay attention to where all the guards were stationed. I had to memorize the layout of the basement, mentally noting any unattended entrances and exits that we would be able to get in and out of. All of this, while keeping Akia from touching me. I had done well shielding what I needed to from him in the past somehow, without even realizing I was doing it, but today my head was so filled with heartache, loss and pain, that I didn't think I had enough ability to concentrate left in me to hide the hurt. Not today.

  I walked up to the gate. Just like yesterday, no questions were asked. I was allowed to walk in the front door. It didn't flatter me today like it had yesterday; in fact, it bothered me. A real leader would maintain a mindset that assumed everyone was out to get him and no one would get past the door without a pat down at least. But I guess you tend to think differently when you spend your life hiding and knowing at any moment, someone could figure out that you are a fake and the game would be over.

  “Well, well, well, if it isn't the kitty Cat herself. Tell me what is it that you are here for today; a little quickie maybe? I don't buy your act for a second. You are up to something and it is my job to protect the Regent. I don't care if he trusts you blindly. I don't think that you are just some bimbo. I think are up to no good and I will figure out what.” I didn't even have to turn around. I knew the voice belonged to Drake.

  “Oh now come on Drake. What is it that has your pantie
s in a twist? Are you not getting all of Akia's attention anymore?”

  I just kept walking by him. I wasn't in the mood for a fight, not right now anyways, and besides, as much as I hated to admit it, Drake was the only level headed one in the bunch. He was the only one that was smart enough to see what Akia couldn't, and he would have to be dealt with later. I didn't know him that well but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn't going to rest until I was gone, which meant that he would need to be taken care of. I knew I was going to enjoy putting him down a lot. Akia was sitting behind his desk. He was in the same room as the big comfy couch room from yesterday which was lucky because that was really the only room that I knew how to get to.

  “Hello Cat. Tell me? To what do I owe this unexpected visit?” He hadn’t even looked up from his papers.

  “How did you know it was me? You didn't see me come in.”

  “Once again, Cat, I will tell you, this is all new to me, but I didn't have to see you to know it is you. I just feel you. I don't know how to explain it.” He sounded so exhausted. I didn't even know that exhaustion was possible for a Dominus.

  “Not that I really care but what is bothering you? You look like hell.” I did care; I cared way more than I should, all things considered.

  “Wow. I should put you on the payroll as a professional abuser; you really know how to kick a man when he is down, don't you Cat?” I realized then that it was really something serious. Even more so, he wasn't touching me and I still could feel what he was feeling. “Do you have any idea how bad those damn humans made me look? How was it even possible for that many of them to be hiding among us for this long undiscovered? I mean, I know that it helped them to have that traitor with them. I am sure he taught them all the things that kept them safe, but the possibility that at least one of them should have been found, outweighs anything that he could have taught them by fifty percent.”

  I couldn't make my head stop spinning; there was nothing that I could say to that. It was just sheer luck that Akia took my reticence as a sign that I was listening to him and that he should go on instead of what it really was. It was my world being spun upside down; it was a man that I was inexplicably attracted to analyzing the death of my family and hating himself for not finding and killing all of us sooner.

  “There are still three of the posers out there that we know of. It is hard to tell if other small societies of renegade humans are out there living and walking among us every day. We don't know who they are or where they are. I do know however that the three that are missing are two males and one female.”

  That snapped me back to reality. That was way more than I thought that he knew. If he knew that much, then there was no way for the three of us to stay together anymore. If we continued to be around each other, people would begin to question us.

  “How do you know that?” I said and to me, my voice sounded intrigued and not devastated.

  “The idiot old man didn't get all his records out. He left a notebook in a wall safe; he didn't have time to get to it before they dragged him out. Besides, that isn't what is important right now. What is important is that I find these three renegades and make a sorry spectacle out of them. I plan to drag them out in front of the entire town, call a press conference, and televise it all. I will, of course, kill them slowly in a way that will horrify the humans; that will be the best way to do it. It will scare any other turncoat humans into giving themselves up. I will tell them that their lives will be spared and they can walk willingly into the life of slaves, like they were born to be.”

  “I think that you are right. Everyone is thinking that you are incompetent. I mean, stupid, pathetic humans out smarted the Regent himself?” I should have just left it at that but I couldn’t. “What happens if it is someone that you know? I mean if they were living this close to you they could be anyone. For example, what if Drake is one of them? What would you do if you had to kill someone that you were close to?” I should have never asked it. I could be drawing suspicion in my direction, but I had to know what he would say.

  “I would have to kill him in cold blood then. My ass is on the line here Cat. If the Vampires don’t think I can handle this they will kill me and give my job to someone that they think is more fit to handle it.” That wasn’t at all what I wanted to hear. It really was going to come down to me or him and there was no way to get around it.

  As soon as I finished speaking I knew I had made a mistake. I was supposed to be making him want to take me to see Dr. Walker so I could mentally map the layout of the basement, not making him more upset and causing him to act faster to track us down. I needed to change the course of where this conversation was going or I was going to end up being tortured to death on a mandatory- to-watch program. The thought of it actually gave me goose bumps.

  Before he had the chance to say anything else, I did the only thing that I could think of that would be good enough to distract him and take his mind off of his vengeful plotting. I closed the distance between the two of us and touched his hand with my fingertips. Just the mere brushing of skin sent jolts and tingles through my body. It startled me; I thought by grabbing his hand it would surprise him just enough that it would throw off his thought process. Instead, I looked up from our hands and saw him staring right through me.

  “I am sorry I didn't mean to... I umm.” Well it wasn't the least intelligent thing I‘d ever said.

  “Catalina, tell me, why are you here? I am sorry to be blunt with you but first you insult me, then you insult me some more, and then you just had the urge to touch me. Normally, I would love the challenge of trying to figure you out, but I have a lot more pressing things to do than worry about why you are here and what I am going to say next that is going to send you running for the door.”

  That was fine, he wanted to be blunt. I was done beating around the bush. I couldn’t tell him it was to say goodbye for good; I couldn’t even remotely try for closure. “I want to go down and see him. I have never seen what happens when they deny themselves blood. I know it is morbid, but I’d like to see him suffer up-close.” Wow, nothing like completely going off plan and pulling words out of midair.

  “Cat if that is all you want, you didn't have to ask. I have told everyone to give you access to almost every room in the place.” Akia sounded bored with the whole situation. I should have just left it at that. I was on a mission and I had been trained my whole life how deadly distractions can be, but I just had to know.

  “Why?” I don’t know if I wanted him to say that he was in love with me or if I wanted to have a reason to yell at him for being so trusting and stupid. I guess I just needed him to say something that would make me think him less of a fool.

  “I am sorry Cat have I done something else wrong? I thought that would please you, and besides it is only fair; after all, I let the flower lady mafia loose on your apartment to wreak havoc, so I thought my hospitality would make up for it.”

  His little attempt at humor was lost on me. I wasn't in the mood to be carefree and laughing. “How do you know that you can trust me?” I asked. OK so I was being stupid and I didn’t know what I was hoping to gain by my personal challenge to his judgment, but maybe, just maybe I thought that he would wise up. “Your kingdom and my apartment are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I would never allow anyone to freely roam around my home, and yet, you just let people come and go on a whim.” Counterproductive words maybe, but the Regent was clearly lacking in the security department. No wonder we had been successful as long as we had. It was mean but he deserved it. I didn’t know why I was trying to help him, and I am sure he didn’t see it that way, however, after I disappeared I wanted him to be safe, and if I had broken security so easily than any pretty face could too. Akia trusted way too much.

  “Cat, if you want to debate with me how I run my kingdom; that is fine. I cannot however, do it with you right now. I will tell you this; you are the only person other than my staff that I allow to roam freely as you put it. I trust my staf
f and as strange as it sounds, I trust you. I have to trust you. I don't have a choice. I don't know what the pull is that you have over me, but I do know that I have never felt the way I do when our skin touches. You can fight and deny it if you want to, but you feel it too.” I had never thought about it that way. Maybe I was really just that special to him. I hoped that the memories of my touch kept him warm at night because he killed everyone I loved and I would never, ever forgive him for that. “What saddens me the most is that I can't explore you; I have to walk on careful ground around you because you are frightened of me. I just hope that one day we can work through whatever it is that so bothers you about me. I don't know what it is about you, but I do know that if stealing a touch here and there is all I can get from you, then that is what I will take. I am addicted to you and that scares me.”

  The look in his eyes and the need in his voice was all it took. I had to get as far away from this monster as I could and quickly. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he would kill me if he knew the truth of what I was, but that wasn't what threatened to send me running. It was the fact that I knew exactly what he was talking about. This man had killed my family. This man was going to be the death of me and my last two friends if I didn’t get away. Yet all I wanted to do was sit with him for just one more moment. I needed to feel him; I need to give myself that more then I needed to give it to him.

  I reasoned with myself. If I could talk to him and convince him that I was going away for a while, then he wouldn’t come looking for me in a day or two after I disappeared. If I told him that I was leaving for a month or so, then he would be less consumed with looking for me because he would know when I’d be back. With that justification, I turned around to face him.